Published 12:45 pm Wednesday, July 10, 2024
Wool from Shaniko Wool Company, headquartered near Maupin, Ore., is featured in Ralph Lauren blazers Team USA will wear at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics in Paris on July 26.
This is the fourth Olympic partnership between the brand and Jeanne Carver, founder and president of Shaniko Wool Company.
Bio Box
Name: Jeanne Carver
Business strategy: Carver has used certification as a competitive advantage to create value.
Notable: Shaniko Wool Company fibers were used to create the blazers that will be worn by Team USA at the Paris Olympic Games.
Family: Husband Dan Carver (deceased). Imperial Stock Ranch near Maupin, Ore., has been passed down to their children, Blaine Carver, Benjamin Carver and Susie Miles.
History: Imperial Stock Ranch traces its roots back to 1871. Dan and Jeanne Carver purchased the ranch in the 1980s.
Wool from Carver’s Imperial Stock Ranch was used for uniforms in the Winter Olympics in 2014 and 2018, and Shaniko Wool was used in 2022.
“What’s really special about this time is they chose to showcase wool for the Summer Olympics uniforms. Wool is the original performance fiber. It’s a testimony to its year-round versatility,” Carver said.
The Olympics being held in the fashion capital of the world is another plus.
Shaniko Wool Company, launched in 2018, includes 10 sheep ranches in Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada and Colorado. Wool in the blazers is an aggregate from Shaniko partners.
Altogether, the company grazes more than 2.6 million acres and produces roughly 500,000 pounds of Merino wool and Merino crossbred fiber every year.
The wool industry is suffering with a product stockpile and poor prices, but Shaniko Wool Company has no such problems and sold all its 2023 wool.
“We’re about to close a deal on our 2024 wool and it’s because we’re certified,” Carver said.
Shaniko was the first farm group in the U.S. to be certified under the Responsible Wool Standard. RWS wool meets strict animal husbandry, land conservation and worker welfare guidelines to provide traceable fiber.
“Brands don’t want to be associated with land degradation or animal abuse. Consumers don’t either. These third-party certifications add a layer of confidence,” Carver said.
Certification has kept Shaniko competitive globally and the company could expand with more ranchers, Carver said.
Carver’s journey to certification dates back to 1999.
After years of ranching, Carver learned her wool buyer would stop processing and go offshore.
She began researching how to create a textile supply chain and growing her customer base.
Carver started selling yarns. In 2004, national retailer Norm Thompson placed the first order for clothing made from Imperial Stock Ranch yarns.
A phone call from representatives of Polo Ralph Lauren in 2012 changed her life. Having her wool in Olympic outfits led to orders from J. Crew, American Eagle and Patagonia, the latter of which wanted her to become third-party certified.
Imperial Stock Ranch received the first RWS certification in the world.
“Within two years we saw the demand increasing,” Carver said, and she formed Shaniko Wool Company to ramp up the U.S. supply of RWS wool.
Carver’s 32,000-acre ranch has been passed down to her children, and she’s looking toward the future in another way.
The Oregon State University graduate — she was inducted into the College of Agricultural Sciences Hall of Fame in 2023 — is working with her alma mater to quantify the impact of ranching on the environment.
For about five years, researchers have been measuring soil health and plant communities and accounting for inputs.
Five Shaniko partners have been fully evaluated by OSU and were found to operate as a net carbon sink, benefitting nature.
“This is a huge win and it’s a huge part of our story now when I talk to brand partners,” Carver said.
She said it’s important for agricultural operations to stay on the leading edge. “I’d rather be first through the gate, not last,” Carver added.
